Lifelong Learning Competencies Program for Engineers.

Lifelong Learning (LLL) is critical for engaged citizens in the modern knowledge economy. The development of such generic or key competencies should be integrated throughout curricula, along with specific competencies in the disciplines such as engineering. This is a common educational goal in higher education in the USA and in Europe inside the Bologna Process. To enhance the capability of students to articulate their lifelong learning competencies, we developed a 'Lifelong Learning Competencies for Engineers' program for senior engineering students. This was presented as a workshop in a senior design course at the University of San Diego. The workshop includes presentations on lifelong learning competencies and specific recommendations for engineers, as well as an active learning exercise that helps students demonstrate their lifelong learning competence developed throughout their undergraduate career. Our mixed-methods evaluation reveals that the students improve their awareness of the importance of LLL at an important time in their lives as they finish their undergraduate academic career and move to the global labor market. Since lifelong learning spans disciplinary and national boundaries, this program could be adopted by other engineer educators and adapted by educators from a variety of fields. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]